Nissan and Seattle partner up for electric cars

You know the drill: Renault-Nissan makes an announcement about a new partnership to build an electric vehicle charging infrastructure and says it will begin testing their EVs in that location. Today's spot on the map? Seattle. The city's green energy-friendly Mayor, Greg Nickels, said in a statement that, "Electric-powered transportation is particularly attractive in a city with a carbon-neutral utility, generating clean electricity through hydropower."

The specific plan for Seattle is to figure out where to place the electric vehicle charging stations and to figure out how to operate and maintain the charging network. Yes, Nissan EVs will begin testing in Seattle at some point in the future. Nissan has repeatedly said it will introduce electric vehicles to the U.S. in 2010. Some of the specific locations where Renault-Nissan is working to bring EVs to the masses include Arizona (Phoenix and Tucson), California, Monaco, China, Ireland, Zürich, and Tennessee, among many others.

[Source: Nissan]

PRESS RELEASE:

THE RENAULT-NISSAN ALLIANCE FORMS ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE PARTNERSHIP WITH CITY OF SEATTLE

SEATTLE (April 28, 2009) – The Renault-Nissan Alliance today announced that Nissan and the City of Seattle are forming a partnership to advance zero-emission mobility by promoting the development of an electric vehicle (EV) charging network. Nissan will introduce zero-emission vehicles in the United States in 2010 and will mass market them globally two years later.

"Nissan through the Renault-Nissan Alliance has committed to being a global leader in zero-emission vehicles," said Dominique Thormann, senior vice president, administration and finance, Nissan North America. "Nissan and the City of Seattle share in the belief that electric vehicles offer one of the best solutions to reducing CO2 emissions. This partnership expands our infrastructure development efforts on the West Coast, which also includes initiatives in Oregon and California, and is an important step in making zero emissions a reality from Seattle to San Diego."

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has set a goal to combine clean, green electricity with the city's transportation system. In Seattle, power comes from the city's utility, Seattle City Light, the first public utility in the world to be "net zero" for greenhouse gas emissions.

"From light rail to street cars to electric vehicles, we're reducing the impact of transportation on our climate," said Mayor Nickels. "Electric-powered transportation is particularly attractive in a city with a carbon-neutral utility, generating clean electricity through hydropower."

As part of the agreement, Nissan and the City of Seattle will develop plans to promote a charging infrastructure for EVs, as well as the deployment, operation and maintenance of a charging network. The partners also will work to coordinate the establishment of policies and help streamline the deployment of an EV infrastructure. Nissan also has agreed to make available a supply of EVs in and around the Seattle metropolitan area.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has begun ZEV initiatives in Kanagawa Prefecture and Yokohama in Japan, as well as in Israel, Denmark, Portugal, Monaco, the UK, France, Switzerland, Ireland, China and Hong Kong. In the United States, the Alliance is exploring ways to promote zero-emission mobility and the development of an EV infrastructure in the State of Tennessee, the State of Oregon, Sonoma County and San Diego in California, and Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.

Nissan North AmericaIn North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.infinitiusa.com.

Renault-Nissan AllianceThe Renault-Nissan Alliance, founded in 1999, sold 6,160,046 vehicles in 2007. The objective of the Alliance is to rank among the world's top three vehicle manufacturers in terms of quality, technology and profitability.

Reported comments and users are reviewed by Autoblog staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week to determine whether they violate Community Guideline. Accounts are penalized for Community Guidelines violations and serious or repeated violations can lead to account termination.

Anonymous

3 Months Ago

No mention of Better Place? They are the organization that has been behind the infrastructure deployment arrangements in each of the countries/cities mentioned above and are know to be working with Nissan-Renault to provide the EV vehicle hardware. This press release sounds like N-R is trying to put its name on the whole thing.